1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a layout apparatus, a layout method, and a program product for laying out a document in accordance with registered information of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the Internet is in widespread use, a variety of information providing services under the Internet environment is contemplated.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-357068 (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/548,404 filed Apr. 12, 2000) discloses an apparatus that lays out and outputs data acquired in response to a designation by a user in an information providing service in a network environment.
In the disclosed apparatus, the user designates a code, called P code, unique to information. A service controller collects and lays out output data responsive to the P code, lays out the output data, generates and outputs print data so that a terminal having a printing device prints the print data.
The layout method performed by the service controller takes the following procedure.
The size of output data is determined with “priority placed on ease of seeing (at an original output size of the output data)” or with “priority placed on the number of pages (with the output data reduced in size)”, and a sheet size is then determined based on a ratio of the output data size with all data finalized to an area for reserved advertisement.
The advertisement area is assured based on the advertisement ratio by taking into consideration a layout in each service or a predetermined layout. The output data is then arranged in a size with priority placed on the ease of seeing or with priority placed on the number of pages so that the output data may not intrude into the advertisement area. The advertisement area is finally determined to complete the layout process.
In a series of layout process steps, a user may designate a basic sheet size, an advertisement ratio, back page printing for advertisement, advertisement printing on a different sheet, and determination of whether to place priority on the ease of seeing or on the number of pages. Referencing these pieces of user information, the user lays out the document.
However, the information layout in accordance with the user information reflecting the above-mentioned user designation does not take into consideration a small size of the acquired output data. In the above system, an information provider may designate a character font point and permissible expansion ratio and contraction ratio to video data when the information provider registers output data.
Layout-processed printout provided to the user does not necessarily satisfy the user or the information provider.
If the original output data is a text, the text may be output in a predetermined small font size or in a further reduced font size. The resulting text data is hard to read.
This is because the user is forced to contract the data to lay out the data identified by the user if the amount of data is large.
The output layout setting designated by the user covers only a minimum number of items required for an actual physical layout, and is not a layout setting appropriate for the user for achieving a layout reflecting the user registered information that could not be directly related to layout. A system that prints layout-processed data is subject to a setting preregistered in a printer or a default condition uniquely set in the system unless a user particularly designates print settings such as switching between color printing and monochrome printing, and setting a print density, the number of prints, and a sheet discharge method.
To satisfy these requirements, the user must perform complex setting. Providing print results in a print attribute appropriate for the user is difficult.